The Flewellin family of Gurteen, Castlecomer, Kilkenny, Ireland

I am keen to find out the origins of the family of Thomas Flewellin (various spellings) who lived in Gurteen, Castlecomer Parish. Thomas is recorded in Castlecomer tithe applotment records in 1823. He was a tenant farmer and leased land from the Wandesforde family. Thomas married Elizabeth Wilson at Castlecomer in 1826 and their children were baptised in the Church of Ireland, Castlecomer. If anyone knows anything about where the Flewellins originally came from I would be very grateful.

Re: The Flewellin family of Gurteen, Castlecomer, Kilkenny, Ireland

The majority of Church of Ireland residents of Ireland were originally from England, coming to Ireland to farm afterthe Cromwell invasion (1600). Land was given to aristocratic families and 'plantations' of Scot and English farmers started arriving soon after. Some of these Earls, Lords, etc. would even bring from their own estates in England.

There is very little in Irelnd for this family in the form of census or census substitutes. The Tithe's of the 1820-30's are the earliest source and then the Griffith Valuation.

The spelling Flewellin was used in the Griffith Valuationof 1849. The resource I use will bring up variations in spellings as well.

You probably have these. 8 surnames of Flewellin, living on the Wandesford Est. as mentioned, these are the only Flewellin's in Ireland during the Griffith Valuation.

Catherine Ann Flewellen #42 Gorteen (Moneeroe) KilkennyChurch of Ireland, farmer, widow, born KilkennyMargaret Miller 49, sister, born KilkennyThese are the only Flewellen's in all of Ireland in 1911.(this maybe a matter of spelling)www.census.nationalarchives.ie

1894 Directory has a James Flewellin in Carlow Town, Carlow but although I went over it twice I could find the reference.

The program I use does variations on names but none of the other spellings came up.

Search of England:

11 in the 1841, 25 in 1861, 21 in 1871 UK Cencus

A Somerset Election Registry

Charles I Chancery Index (Court) 1625-1649

Flewellin vs. Cooper (no details)

Some marriages Dorset, Surrey, London & Middlesex.

I tried the Irish telephone book (its spelling specific)

and only found 1 listing in Fermoy, Cork.

I can look up births between 1864-1875 in Ireland and CofI marriages 1845-1962 as I have them on CD at home.

Prior to 1864 only Parish records in Ireland but Kilkenny belongs to a not for profit but fee paying Irish HistoryFoundation. Castlecomer St. Mary's has baptism records from 1799-1900, marriages 1808-1900 and deaths 1799-1900Colliery-Castlecomer records start 1839-1900.

Another place to look for information would be perhaps the library in Kilkenny for Journals by a Heritage and Museum Society which may contain memorial inscriptions from gravestones. It is also possible that the Wandesford Estate records may be listed there. They may also have beendonated to the National Library in Dublin. You can look up records on their website but in person research would benecessary.

The Church of Ireland parish registers to 1899 are held at the churches Representative Library in Dublin, personal research only. Their website will tell you what recordsare available there.

Note the spellings and that this was a check of all Ireland Counties.............................................................The following are the Civil Registration for births in Ireland 1864-1875:

The Civil Registration # will allow you to easily get a copy of a birth certificate, otherwise the two parents names do the same. General Registry Office, Dublinwww.groireland.ie...........................................................

On the CD from England there are births from 1603 Staffordshire, England to 1839 Dorset, England

There are too many to give you the lists, if you have any names I could look them up. You should also be able to find these on www.freebmd.org.uk...........................................................

Annette Code

Re: The Flewellin family of Gurteen, Castlecomer, Kilkenny, Ireland

I don't think it will be possible to determine exactly where the Flewellin family came from as I don't believe there are any written records that can provide this information. The Wandesforde family brought a number of English Protestant families to their estate after 1650. In the book "Fassadinin" by William Nolan (I believe it's his Ph.D paper), he stated that about 1/4 of the land in Gorteen in 1812 was occupied by English families including Fluellin, Reynard, Bradley, Booth, Wilson and Stone. The general belief is these families were originally from the area of the Wandesforde estate in Kirklington, Yorkshire and possibly some families with mining experience came from the Richmond area. At that time, travel to Ireland from England would be considered much the same as travel from one state to another in the U.S.A.. I have never seen any records of this travel, but if they exist, they might be with the Wandesforde family papers collection in the Irish Archives. To offer another possiblity, Tom Lyng, in his book "Castlecomer Connections" writes the following, "..the name Fluellin (Llwyllen) is Walsh (sic) and not Yorkshire". I don't know if I buy that... but there it is. Hope this is some help.

Re: The Flewellin family of Gurteen, Castlecomer, Kilkenny, Ireland

I think Flewellin is essentially a Welsh name. English families arrived on the Castlecomer plateau in at least two ways - firstly with the Wandesfordes, but also after the uprising of 1798 families were uprooted from Wexford - many of these families went on to emigrate on mass to Canada. Wexford has very close links with Wales, which is essentially a country built on coal mining.Interestingly though there are Flewellin records on ancestry going back to the 1600s in Yorkshire.Kirklington (original home of the Wandesfords) records can also be trawled on ancestry - going back to the 1500s and beyond.

Re: The Flewellin family of Gurteen, Castlecomer, Kilkenny, Ireland

Many thanks for your reply to my post. My husband's family had always thought the surname to be of Welsh origin, and that the Flewellins moved from the Welsh coalfields to the Castlecomer area. However the Yorkshire link seems very likely, given that there are so many Flewellin records there. My husband's great great grandfather Thomas Flewellin certainly leased land from the Wandesforde family and other also Flewellins (various spellings)appear in the Griffiths records. Thanks for your suggestions.

Re: The Flewellin family of Gurteen, Castlecomer, Kilkenny, Ireland

I am a great great granddaughter of William Flewellyn (Fluellin) and Sarah Reynar (Reynard/Raynor) and our family records show that William was a farmer in 1866, later a manager in the anthracite mine. His son, William George Fluellyn (later Llewellyn) was a timekeeper in the same mine and he and his family immigrated to Canada in 1902. And yes, the family records also show they are all descended from Fluellyn's (or Flue Ellin in 1799 according to Parish of Castlecomer register) who in Cromwell's time were sent from England to manage the anthracite mines at the takeover of Ireland. Perhaps William may have been related to your Thomas?

Re: The Flewellin family of Gurteen, Castlecomer, Kilkenny, Ireland

Thanks for your response to my query. It does seem very likely that there is a connection with our Thomas who was born in about 1799. I haven't found a baptism record for him yet but will search with the Flue Ellin name which may give a result. It seems that the family might have come from Yorkshire. Thomas Flewellin married Elizabeth Wilson at Castlecomer on May 07, 1826. I have found the baptisms of all their children and Thomas's burial record. Thomas and Elizabeth's 7th child, Samuel Flewellen, was my husband's great grandfather. He joined the Irish Constabulary and later emigrated with his wife (Susannah Brown) and small son to New Zealand in 1880.